In this video, Dr. Julie Norman discusses how her experiences with service-learning helped shape her research and career. Currently a professor of political science at McGill University in Montreal, she is the author or editor of several books on nonviolent protest movements, particularly pertaining the Israel-Palestine conflict. She also publishes on media activism, political prisoners, and security and human rights. Julie has extensive experience in the Middle East, and she will soon be a Fellow at the Institute for Conflict Transformation and Social Justice in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

In the Dance and Theater class “Performance and Social Change,” Duke students learn about theater techniques while telling the stories of the women at the Durham Crisis Response Center. For their final performance, the classes invited the community to join in their interactive theatrical event.

Students in DOCST 347S Civil/Human Rights Activism in Durham: In the Spirit of Pauli Murray spent a day staging events around Duke and Durham focusing on feminism and other gender issues. Highlights were living sculptures and the trivia game "Feminist Feud!" Students also created and distributed postcards with information about gender issues that exist in the community.

A collaborative mural project is now featured on the side of Torero’s Mexican Restaurant at West Main and North Duke streets. The mural is a project of Two-Way Bridges, a program that seeks to bridge the communities of Duke and the Latino community in Durham and beyond. The mural, which was was inspired by the story of Latino migration, features two arms grasping each other, a train, agricultural workers and an image of a Latino youth. The project also culminated in an exhibit featuring art from around the community.

INJAZ, a group associated with Service-Learning's Community Based Language Initiative, consists of students in third and fourth-year Arabic courses who work with recently-arrived refugess in a cultural and language exchange experience. The group hosted a dinner for Sudanese and Iraqi refugees featuring musical performances and locally-made food. The night gave students and community members a chance for interaction, language practice, and cultural exchanges.

Voices of Partnership: Heard & Unheard

A panel discussion sponsored by the Service-Learning Program, April 2012

In Robin Kirk's Human Rights Activism course, students read classic human rights texts and examine the histories and contexts of these documents as well how early proponents of human rights used them, successfully and unsuccessfully.

Food & Energy: Applying Research and Theory to Local Dining Practice is designed to teach concepts about the agricultural system and climate change from peer-reviewed and popular sources, and to give students the opportunity to apply these concepts within the Duke and local communities.

Looking at a range of social policy issues, Professor Jenni Owen's course focuses on the policy-making process, the role of different sectors in policymaking, when and why policymakers use research and when and why they don’t, and communicating with policymakers.

What is service-learning?

Service-learning is a teaching and learning approach that integrates community service with academic study to enrich learning, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities.

~ National Commission on Service-Learning, 2002

Faculty members who teach service-learning courses arrange specific service opportunities that both enhance the educational goals of a course and serve the public good by providing a needed service in the community.

Students taking service-learning courses commit to completing a certain number of hours of service work outside of class, and to reflecting on this work through class discussions and assignments.

Community partners receive assistance from students and often enjoy the intellectual stimulation of collaborating with Duke faculty members and students to support the academic goals of the course.